American lady living in Kuwait commenting on daily occurrances through her warped perspective. Her travels take us beyond the boundaries of normalcy.
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Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Negative PR: Kuwait's Recent Proposals - FAIL

I can't believe puppeteer, MP Nabeel Al-Fadhl, had the audacity to even get the Bedoon proposal out of his mouth... My blood boiled...

Two Racist Proposals

By Dr Hassan Abbas —
Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Rai

Kuwait Times, 23
April 2014

No one can blame lawmakers for acting
towards the benefit of citizens and the nation. But at the same time, that does
not give them the right to practice discrimination against others. Last week
saw two projects proposed by MPs that can be classified as discriminatory. The
first proposes that the government set up camps on the borders where bedoons
who create chaos through demonstrations can be banished to, and the second
calls for removing subsidies from energy consumed by expatriates.

MP Nabeel Al-Fadhl’s proposal to banish
bedoon ‘troublemakers’ to border camps reminds me of the Nazi concentration
camps when it comes to the racist sentiment behind it. What else is left for
bedoons other than protests? If they remain silent, their decades-old miserable
situation will continue for years to come. And when they call for help, they
are threatened with banishment to Kuwait’s version of the Auschwitz-Birkenau
camp! The bedoons’ dilemma is divided into two parts: One part includes those
who are either Kuwaitis but are still waiting to be recognized as such, or
those who have no hope of being naturalized.

My question is this: How does Fadhl plan to
deal with bedoons who are soon to become Kuwaitis? How is he going to justify
banishing them from their own country? And with regards to the second part,
does nationality justify humiliating people? Protesters can either be peaceful
demonstrators, in which case they should be left alone, or lawbreakers in which
case they are put on trial and jailed by court orders if found guilty.

Now we move to the proposal of lifting
subsidies, or as I call it, a group of laws meant to create restrictions on
foreigners. I do not understand the meaning of this suggestion. I was confused
by MPs’ statements who sometimes say that removing subsidies on fuel helps
reduce traffic, and other times they say that this decision would save Kuwait
almost KD 1.5 billion annually.

Which is the right justification?
Regardless of the answer to that question, I do not understand why we expect
that foreigners are always the problem.

I know that Kuwait has a large expatriate
population, but who said that they are reason behind traffic jams and money
wastage? Waste of public funds is a result of greedy companies and visa
traffickers who brought poor people from the ends of the world, which adds
pressure on public services and damages Kuwait’s international image in the
process.

Let us put traffic jams aside and focus on
the economy and waste. When Kuwaitis put their houses for rent, isn’t that a
cause of waste? When Kuwaitis sell their subsidized food, isn’t that a cause of
waste? When Kuwaitis are paid handsomely to stay at home while leaving work for
foreigners to do, isn’t that a cause of waste? Isn’t weak management a cause of
waste? When senior posts are monopolized, when administrative development is
frozen because of outdated mindsets, isn’t that a cause of waste? Isn’t
treatment abroad a cause of waste? Aren’t the failed multibillion deals a cause
of waste? If all those are reasons for wastage of public funds, then why are
MPs encouraged to take action only against expatriates?!

- - - End

In my personal experience, usually when BS proposals like this are spun, it is usually to hide something larger that is really taking place in the country. Hmmmm.... what could THAT be? 2 newspapers were recently suspended for talking about it....

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About Me

American semi-Kuwaiti living, working, eating, boating, and observing in Kuwait. Born in America, but raised with Kuwaitis, I get culture shock on both continents. No one understands me, but my dog, and she still gives me strange looks once in a while.
I do not accept payment for advertising; I won't entertain the thought. If I think your product or service is worthy of discussion, I will post about it. If I help you, you can send me pink roses.
If you are interested in reading about the Bedoun cause in Kuwait, see my posts which are tagged "Bedoun Civil Rights Movement".

Life in the Desert

I danced in the desert,I swam by the shores, I spent warm nights under starlit blankets of silver,I made friends from far-away placesI ate and drank and savored it allI loved and was lovedWhat more could anyone ask for?